The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/all/20050313172143/http://www.ajediam.com:80/Learn-about-jewelry-gem-stones-pearls-precious-metals-settings.html
Learn about jewelry,
gem-stones, pearls, precious metals and settings:
Ajediam gives you everything you need to learn about diamond jewelry.
International Diamond Center Antwerp
Send us a mail if you have any questions remaining. We will try to answer them to the best of our knowledge. E-mail us
Jewelry Guide:
4 C's of diamonds: Carat, Color, Clarity, Cut / Shape
Buying diamonds you must look at first to what is the most visible:
1. The weight or size
2. The brightness
3. The color
4. At least the clarity
Shape :
Some common diamond shapes are: Brilliant, Princess, Oval, Heart, Pear, Emerald and Marquise. You can find several other Fancy shapes like Trillion, Horse, Butterfly...
Are natural diamonds rare?
Don't think you can buy diamonds just cut at your size.
Diamonds are very rare!
The yearly world production of cut diamonds
Color: Exceptional White + (D)
Clarity: Loupe Clean (IF)
Weight: from 1 to 1.39 Carat,
is less than 900 Carat per year
That means that - all together - there are about 750 stones avaible only!
To produce these 750 diamonds, the mining companies have to dig more than 800,000,000 Ton of Kimberlite.
(Kimberlite are the rocks in which rough diamonds are found)
That makes the prices of rough and cut diamonds expansive and explains also the rareness of them on the market.
To know your ring size measure the inside diameter of a ring that fits well. The size maybe between 4 and 13.5 millimeters.
Materials
Buying jewelry : it may be comforting to know a little about the materials and techniques we jewelers use. In the following we hand you some information on gold and platinum, on colored gemstones and on manufacturing techniques. If you have questions remaining, send us a mail.Gold, platinum, silver are the materials most often used in jewelry. We prefer to use platinum and gold because of their long lasting quality and appearance.
Gold has been used since ancient times to create jewelry, art and religious articles. Its unique color, and the fact that it can be mixed with other metals, makes it one of the most popular metals for jewelry to this day.
Platinum is an extremely durable metal. Since the 1880s it has been used to make fine jewelry. As it is both a dense and strong metal, platinum is favored over other metals to hold diamonds.
For complex designs, with an inlay of many small stones, jewelers prefer platinum over gold. As with gold, platinum is also mixed with other metals. Common marks are: 850 Plat, PT 850, PT 850. The alloy is also mentioned sometimes, like in 850 Plat, 150 Irid (Iridium).
We use plain silver 925 for fashion big jewelry because it is cheap.
Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, aquamarines and topaz are famous examples of the very popular category of coloured gemstones.
Gemstones are measured by their weight and size. The size of a gemstone is expressed in millimeters (for example, 6x8 millimeters). The basic unit for weighing gemstones is the carat, equal to 1/5th of a gram.
Carats are divided into 100 units.These units are called points. For example, 1/10 gram of gemstone is equal to ½ carat, is equal to 50 points.
Other coloured gemstones you may frequently encounter are Aquamarine, Quartz, Citrine, Tanzanite and Tourmaline & Citrine
As technology advances we see many product and process innovations in the area of gemstones. Synthetic gemstones, in a jewelry store sometimes abbreviated “CTRD" are an important example of such an innovation.
These stones posses the same optical, chemical and physical properties as natural gemstones. Although they are as beautiful as the real thing, they have been produced entirely in a laboratory. And, therefor, they should be much cheaper.
The same applies to composite or assembled stones, which consist of glass and synthetic parts held together by a color injected glue.
Natural color gemstones may have been processed as well. So as to enhance their color, they may have been dyied, irradiated, or treated with heat. While the color may have embellished, the durability possibly diminished.
Be sure to ask a jeweler what type of gemstone you have at hand, and what processes it endured before reaching his store or office. If not for the appearance, you at least want to pay the right price for the real value.
Pearls are another beautiful offspring of nature. They are made by oysters and other mollusks. When grown without the help of humans, we speak of Natural pearls. Specialist pearl divers search for these rare species, mostly in the tropical waters of the pacific.
The longer a pearl is left cultivating in the oyster, the thicker its “nacre skin. Pearls with a thin nacre do not last long. Natural chemicals and perfumes bite into the skin, worsening its appearance rapidly.
Cultured pearls have been grown by mollusks, in a protected & conditioned environment. They are not as rare
as the natural type, and cost less. Be sure to ask your jeweler how the pearls you prefer have been grown.
You may find out they are fake pearls, made from glass, organic materials or plastic.
Settings
The way jewelry is constructed has a strong effect on its beauty and durability. For long lasting jewelry the right amounts of solder should be used. The gold or platinum should be of adequate thickness. And, very important, the stone settings should be firm and neat.
Good and lesser techniques exist to keep gemstones and pearls in place. Some of the important ones are the pave setting, the channel setting and the prong setting.
Tiffany setting
Tiffany setting is a popular setting for solitaire diamond engagement rings with 4 or 6 prongs, depending of the importance of the diamond. Prong setting hold diamonds safely, enabling best amount of light to enter diamonds
For a channel setting a jeweler makes a groove inside two strips of metal. This groove, with the metal strips on the sides, can hold a row of stones.
The prong setting is used for faceted gemstones. Prongs are a type of metal claws, which hold the gemstone in place. Mostly four or more claws are used for setting one stone.
The bead setting is also used for gemstones. A metal bead shaped strip surrounds the stone, and raises it from the surface of the jewelry piece.
The pave setting is used for diamonds and other jewelry which is supposed to have a long lifetime. The Pave setting requires patience and workmanship. It takes about a day for a skilled diamond setter to make one pave set diamond necklace.
Tiny holes are shaped by hand in the gold, to hold the stones safely. The exposed gold surfaces are textured into a bead finish, and their edges polished to shiny ribbons of gold.
Tell us what you're willing to pay for your certified Diamond. 
Rubies, Emeralds
CMR Rough & Polished Diamonds Manufacturers - Cutters Inc. / s.a. Ajediam
Member of the Diamond Office
International Diamond Center Antwerp
Diamond Bourse "Kring" Ground Floor Room 006
BE-2018 Antwerpen Europe Belgium
Tel: + 32 3 770 86 86 Mobile phone + 32 479 28 12 13
Registered at the National Bank of Antwerp Diamond Companies under Licence 0478 926 810
Your trusty company with 5 C's: Carat, Color, Clarity, Cut & Confidence, Famous diamond cutters since 1985
Lifetime Buyback! & Customer Total Satisfaction Program
CMR Inc. n.v. Ajediam is specialized in big Diamond loose Gem-stones Rubies Emeralds Sapphires and fine customized Jewelry Rings Necklaces Earrings Bracelets…
We guarantee that all our diamonds are conflict-free, purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict in compliance with United Nations Resolutions.
